


Residual Effects

by BubbaKnowlton



Series: USS Nobility [3]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: M/M, Nightmares, Post-Canon, Two-Spirit Character, original parasitoid species, science officer!Molly, takes place about 17 years post end of ds9
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 11:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16407524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubbaKnowlton/pseuds/BubbaKnowlton
Summary: The USS Nobility is a Sovereign-class starship on a mission of exploration; Ensign Molly O'Brien is one of her science officers. Experienced with how motley crews can become a family of sorts, Molly makes it her personal mission to make sure the crew of the Nobility does, even if certain members find it harder than others to be accepted.-After coming across a telepathic colony, the crew suffers from residual telepathic energy that manifests as nightmares and anxiety, especially about past memories.





	Residual Effects

**Author's Note:**

> heres another uss nobility fic ! ft. Checkers, a kid from an alternate past timeline, and T'rea, a vulcan engineer that kind of acts like a counselor.  
> still working on designing the crew members so the captain and cmo. still dont have names lmao

**Residual Effects**

Molly screamed, and brought her arms up to cover her face before the creature could attack her. She’d watched it kill Lieutenant Jitomo, and didn’t want to suffer the same fate. Didn’t want it to latch onto her and rip out her eyes like they were hidden treats.

Someone shook her shoulder, and she woke up in her quarters. Ensign Hoji Andu was looking down at her, worried. “O’Brien, are you alright?”

He had the same noses ridges as his brother and sister, she realized, exhausted. “Yeah, Hoji, I’m fine. Just a nightmare.”

“Oh. A residual effect from that telepathic colony we met, huh?”

“Yeah. Have you been having nightmares?”

He nodded. “I had a dream about my brother dying. It, ah... It was fairly unpleasant, to say the least. Do you want to talk about yours?”

“It was a bad memory.”

“Mekor has been dreaming about the Fire. I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me to help cheer him up, but I can help you cheer up first.”

Andu looked every bit as horrible as she felt. His uniform was messy, and he had bags under his eyes. She sat up, and asked, “Are you okay?”

“It was a rather distressing dream I had. Not a memory. I spoke to T’rea about it earlier, and she helped me calm down.”

The Vulcan lieutenant always made time to help others, provided it didn’t interfere with her engineering work. Molly was surprised she was awake, though. “Is she having nightmares too?”

“She’s having difficulty meditating. I think she was happy I showed up.”

“Really? Happy?”

“Okay. I think she thought... my presence was a welcome distraction.”

Molly cracked a smile. “Now that sounds like something she would say.” Her smile suddenly faded, and her eyes widened. “Checkers!”

“What?”

“Hoji, Checkers is just a kid. Is anyone with them? They’re probably miserable, poor thing-”

“Uh, I don’t know. Computer, where is Checkers?”

“ _Checkers is in the Captain’s Ready Room._ ” 

They both sighed in relief. Molly’s smile came back. “The Captain is looking after them.”

“That’s good. Had me worried for a second, there.”

-

Mekor lingered by his husband’s side as he prepared doses of improvoline for the crew members suffering from nightmares. He’d already received two doses of the sedative himself, but his anxiety refused to give up its hold on him. The infirmary was quiet, the only sounds being the soft click of medicine being put into hypos, his husband’s claws tapping on his computer console, and the occasional sound from their son, who was sleeping on one of the biobeds.

Yek set down another full hypo and turned to him. Mekor looked up, and could see his reflection on the man’s helmet, his tired eyes, pallid scales, and slight frown. He sighed as Yek brought a hand to his face, gently putting a gloved claw over his lips. Two hands grasped his shoulders, and the last one tapped a command into the computer. The lights dimmed even further.

“I’m not tired,” Mekor protested, knowing what his husband was about to say.

“ _Get some rest. I will keep an eye on you and Saint._ ”

“I don’t need to sleep. Cardassians are very resilient.”

“ _Yes, I know, but you have not slept for more than an hour in two days._ ” He brought up a medical scanner, and turned to look at his console. “ _You need a nice, long nap. Lay down with Saint._ ”

Yek pushed him towards the biobed, but Mekor stopped. “No, I’ll... I’ll wake him. He’s finally peaceful.”

“ _Then a different biobed._ ” When Mekor resisted, he found himself being scooped up effortlessly by all four of Yek’s arms. “ _Do not be so anxious, Mekor. It is only sleep._ ”

“I don’t want to see Cardassia again. You promised I wouldn’t have to see her again.” He hated how pathetic he sounded, what a cheap tactic it was to bring up Yek’s promise to him in a situation like this. But... “Every time I lay down, I see her, burning.”

Making a low rumbling sound Mekor had never heard before, Yek squeezed him tightly and pressed his helmet to his cheek. “ _Alright, Mekor. I will give you something to keep your energy up until the effects pass. But I would like you to sit down, at least._ ”

Grateful that his husband was so understanding, Mekor smiled and reached for his hand. He threaded their fingers together in a Cardassian kiss. “Thank you.” Yek set him down and retrieved a small hypo. He pressed it to Mekor’s throat, humming. Almost immediately, he could feel a new rush of energy go through him, erasing the exhaustion he felt.

Before he could thank him again in a more human manner, their son whimpered. Mekor went to his side, and gently shook him awake. Saint looked around, making an unhappy chirping sound until he saw his father. Then he held up his arms. Mekor picked him up. Saint tucked his head against his father’s neck, twittering.

“It’s alright, my dear. You just had a nightmare.”

“ _Parasitoids do not have nightmares, Mekor._ ” Yek leered over them. “ _It was just a sleep disturbance._ ”

“I don’t understand.”

“ _We do not dream. A disturbance is like the feeling of falling, being unable to fly._ ”

“But he can’t fly.” Mekor frowned, eyes flicking over Yek. “Why are you standing like that? Are you upset with me?”

Yek quickly relaxed his posture, putting two hands on his husband’s arms. “ _Of course not, Mekor!_ ” he assured. “ _Forgive me, I find myself fatigued._ ”

“I understand.” He rubbed Saint’s back, and then smiled. “Perhaps you should take a break. We can return to our quarters. Saint will rest easy in the proper atmosphere,” he suggested.

“ _Tempting._ ” Yek tapped Mekor’s lips with a gloved claw, careful to keep the touch light. “ _However, I have work to do. The Doctor ordered me to prepare hypos._ ”

-

“Doctor, how much longer are these _residual effects_ going to last? I’m exhausted, and a ship needs a captain that’s wide awake.” The Captain looked up at the doctor after she finished administering an injection to Checkers’ neck. The teenager sighed in their sleep, curling up even more against her side. She patted their back.

“Another day for most of the crew. Two days for the humans, Betazoids, and Bajorans. It seems they’re the most susceptible.”

“Which species aren’t being affected? I need someone to be Captain that isn’t about to pass out with a kid on top of them. Goodness, I’d hate to make Mr. Mekor the Captain, but... Cardassians have strong minds, right?”

“Cardassians are among the species that are being affected. He isn’t suitable to be the Captain in his state. Also, he is not a member of Starfleet. He cannot legally be the Captain unless every officer on board is indisposed.” The doctor sighed. “The one person on board I can say isn’t being affected is Dr. Yek, but again, he isn’t Starfleet, and he’s too busy caring for the crew. The Vulcan crewmembers should be considered. They’re resisting the affects quite admirably.”

“Lieutenant T’rea, then. She’ll make an excellent Captain for two days. Now that I’m free from my duties, I’ll take up my first shift making sure the little guy gets a good rest.”

“Sometimes I swear you’re about to hand Starfleet an adoption paper.”

“Eh, they don’t have to know about them yet. I’d rather respect their wishes not to get a genetic test.”

Soon after the doctor left, Checkers woke up with a start. They looked around, eyes wide, but then quickly calmed down. A sad look came over their face. “This isn’t... Kate’s ship...”

“Dreaming about Voyager?”

“Yes, Captain. That ship was a nightmare.” They forced a smile, but it quickly vanished. “But it was home.”

“You’ll get back there someday.”

“Thank you,” Checkers said, not sounding like they agreed with her at all. She rubbed their arm. “You should sleep too, ma’am.”

“Ah, it’s fine. I’ll watch over you.”

-

“So, you’re the Captain now, huh?” Lieutenant T’rea refused to look at Ensign Hoji as he jogged up to her on her way to the bridge. “That’s great!”

“Ensign, I have only been given temporary command. Also, I question your choice of description. How is it positive that most of the crew is fatigued and stressed, including the Captain and our Chief Medical Officer?”

“Yeah, I guess it’s not great. But it’s a good experience for you, right?”

“I agree. Though I am not pursuing the command track, it is necessary for me to gain experience in the other tracks so that I may become a more efficient officer in times of a crisis. Ensign, I thought you were going to spend time with Ensign O’Brien and Mr. Mekor.”

“Ah, O’Brien wanted to go back to sleep, and Mekor told me he was fine. He’s with his husband, which is comforting, I guess.”

“You do not believe him?” She finally turned to look at him.

“Oh, ah... I don’t know much about marriage, that’s all. Hey, you’re married, right?”

“I have a wife on Vulcan, yes.”

“Do you think it’d be comforting to have her here?”

“Vulcans do not need comforting, Ensign. However... Her presence would be welcome. It has been... a long time, since I’ve last seen her in person.”

“You miss her, huh?”

“Vulcans do not ‘miss’ anyone.”

“Right, sorry.”

**Author's Note:**

> Follow/talk to me on Tumblr: @oblio-k


End file.
